Jakarta: Hundreds of residents were evacuated from Indonesia's Halmahera Island after the local government launched a high-level emergency response in the shadow of the volcanic eruption of Mount Ibu.

According to Anadolu Agency, the residents were evacuated starting Wednesday from six villages near the eruption zone with the help of the Regional Disaster Mitigation Agency, the military, police, and other related agencies. Irfan Idrus, the disaster agency's local head, stated that the evacuation was carried out after Ibu's alert status was raised.

The eruption of the volcano, located on Halmahera Island, created a four-kilometer (2.5 mile) column of smoke above the peak, as reported by the Indonesian National Disaster Management Agency. The eruption lasted over two minutes.

The public was warned by authorities not to approach the four-kilometer (2.4-mile) radius of the mountain and a sectoral expansion of six km (3.7 mi) towards the crater. Indonesia, situated along the Pacific Ring of Fire, sees the highest level of seismic activity and volcanic eruptions globally, with over 120 active volcanoes.